Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 302
Antelope County Sheriff Robert Moore will no longer serve as the county's emergency manager. In a letter addressed to the Antelope County clerk, Moore said he felt he could no longer work under the "current conditions and feelings of the commissioners." The letter was dated May 7, two days after a meeting when two commissioners found fault with the manner a refrigerated semi-trailer was purchased to serve as a makeshift morgue for a worst-case scenario, when deaths from COVID-19 may exceed...
The purchase of a refrigerated semi-trailer and the county fund it was paid from were among matters of contention at the Antelope County commissioners' meeting last week. All five commissioners, several other county officials and others were present in the courthouse meeting room May 5 and the meeting was shared electronically via Zoom. Some of those present were asked to step into the hall at one point, when more than 10 were observed in the room. Jared Reimers addressed the commissioners...
After seeking advice from county attorney Joe Abler, the Antelope County commissioners approved issuing a COVID-19 pandemic disaster declaration for Antelope County, beginning Jan. 31, and continuing, per recommendation of the Nebraska Association of County Officials. The attorney was called after county clerk, Lisa Payne, suggested the declaration be backdated to January. After further discussion and Abler's input, the declaration was approved unanimously and dated April 14, but covered...
June 30 retirement of longtime Antelope County clerk of the district court, Judy Cole was announced during the April 14 meeting of the Antelope County commissioners. The meeting was held via video conference, with commissioner Eli Jacob and chairman Charlie Henery present in the meeting room, along with clerk Lisa Payne. Commissioners Dean Smith, Regina Krebs and Carolyn Pedersen participated remotely via Zoom. Sheriff Bob Moore, county attorney Joe Abler, zoning administrator Liz Doerr and...
Antelope County Commissioners approved a motion during an emergency meeting, March 18, to limit access to the courthouse. Beginning March 19, individuals needing to conduct business with local officials will be required to make an appointment with a specific office. The change will be in effect until April 7, or as deemed necessary by Centers for Disease Control and/or state officials. A list of office phone numbers and email addresses will appear on all courthouse doors. Visitors will be met...
Antelope County Commissioners approved a motion during an emergency meeting, March 18, to limit access to the courthouse. Beginning March 19, individuals needing to conduct business with local officials will be required to make an appointment with a specific office. The change will be in effect until April 7, or as deemed necessary by Center for Disease Control and/or state officials. A list of office phone numbers and email addresses will appear on all courthouse doors. Visitors will be met at...
Aaron Boggs of Creighton, who has served as foreman of Antelope County's road department for about a year, was hired to head the department when the county commissioners met at the courthouse in Neligh on March 10. The commissioners entered closed session to consider applications, after an announcement by chairman Charlie Henery just before 11 a.m. "I have to leave by noon or so," he said. "So, we need to go into executive session to talk about personal employee stuff. We need a motion to do...
Antelope County commissioners met March 3 in their meeting room at the courthouse in Neligh, with consideration of six driveway permits for the new Summerland school included on the meeting agenda. Steve Thiele of Clearwater was present, representing both the school district and the builder, Hausmann Construction. The county leaders gave unanimous approval for two of the applications, as temporary construction driveways and passed a motion to require a traffic study as part of the requirement for consideration of permanent permits. A 30-foot...
The Antelope County commissioners were faced with issues arising from two recent road decisions when they met last Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the courthouse in Neligh. Working through the agenda, commissioners examined and approved payroll and vendor claims, all with an eye on the clock, completing their work before noon. A quorum for the afternoon was at risk, due to two commissioners indicating afternoon obligations elsewhere and commissioner Regina Krebs' absence. Casey Dittrich, who has served as Antelope County road boss for the last four...
Darrel Timm of Neligh and Julie Krause of Brunswick were appointed to the Antelope County Extension Board by the county commissioners, when the county leaders met last week at the Neligh courthouse. Local extension educator Brittany Spieker proposed the appointments of Timm and Krause to replace Gayle Wortman and Derek Zuhlke, who had each completed two terms on the board. The new board members were affirmed on 4-0 votes of the commissioners. Commissioner Eli Jacob was absent. Spieker also presented the annual extension office report. She...
Bobbi Riser, Region 11 emergency manager, addressed the Antelope County commissioners at their Jan. 14 meeting. She said the Region 11 board had voted at their Dec. 12 meeting to cover the insurance cost for the NRIN equipment, leaving electricity to the tower being the only expense to the county. NRIN is a statewide communication system for law enforcement agencies, with cost of equipment and installation covered by the state. Riser also told the commissioners the county had been awarded a $1,000 grant through Emergency Preparedness program....
Charlie Henery was elected as chair of the Antelope County commissioners for 2020, when they met last week. Henery takes the gavel from Dean Smith, who took on the chairman duties when the former chair was removed from office. Regina Krebs, who was appointed to the board in October 2019, was elected vice chair. Henery and Krebs were each the only nominee for their positions, nominated by commissioners Eli Jacob and Carolyn Pedersen, respectively. Reorganization of the board was delayed until...
An old problem returned to the Antelope County commissioners’ table when the leaders gathered for the first 2020 meeting at the courthouse in Neligh last week. Judy Wilcox, accompanied by her husband, Dave Wilcox, was there to discuss wind turbine “ice sling policy.” County zoning administrator Liz Doerr also addressed the leaders regarding a Christmas Day icing event. Doerr described procedures followed, after she received notice from Commission chair Dean Smith and Wilcox. She referenced a text message from Smith, indicating numerous turbi...
The Antelope County commissioners postponed action on an agenda item requested by Andy Frey, Elm Township road closures follow-up, sending a half-dozen county residents away without resolution. The commissioners held public hearings Sept. 3 on proposals to close two segments of county road. Both closure requests, one mile of 848 Road, from one-half mile east of 529 Avenue to one-half mile east of 530; and one-half mile of 847 Road, were petitioned by Frey. Brian McDonald, county engineer,...
With a full board seated at the table, the Antelope County commissioners addressed dust issues on a county road for the second week in a row. Commissioners Carolyn Pedersen and Regina Krebs, who were appointed to fill vacancies the week prior, were sworn into office by Linda Mitchell, Antelope County court magistrate, prior to the nearly six-hour meeting at the courthouse in Neligh last Tuesday, Nov. 12. Tension appeared as issues arose regarding timing of agenda disbursement to commissioners,...
Two rural Clearwater women have been appointed to fill vacancies on the Antelope County Board of Commissioners. Regina Krebs and Carolyn Pedersen fill board vacancies created by the Oct. 15 recall of commissioners Tom Borer and Allen Bentley, who were elected to the board last November. Pedersen will represent District Five and Krebs, District Three. A panel of Antelope County officials, clerk Lisa Payne, attorney Joe Abler and treasurer Deb Branstiter, interviewed seven potential commissioners...
Dean Smith of Brunswick presided over his first meeting as chairman of the Antelope County commissioners last Tuesday, moving to the position from vice chairman after the former chair was removed from office. Two new commissioners had not yet been appointed, leaving Smith, Charlie Henery and Eli Jacob as seated board members to take care of business. The board addressed issues related to a road included in the Thunderhead wind farm road-use agreement. Listed on the agenda under the road...
An Antelope County commissioner will face a jury of his peers in the county courtroom in January, more than a year after the alleged theft of county property. Eli Jacob, 66, of Clearwater, who is accused of taking a furnace from the Orchard county barn last January, faced the Honorable Donna Taylor last Wednesday for a pretrial hearing in the case. Madison County Attorney Joseph Smith, as special prosecutor for Antelope County, told Taylor he anticipates a two-day trial, possibly three days,...
The Antelope County Commissioners worked through their agenda in short order Oct. 8, at the Neligh courthouse, authorizing claims and payroll before hearing Casey Dittrich's road report and a complaint that had been posted on social media. "We had some complaints about south of Clearwater, grinding up the road," Dittrich said. "I reached out to some of the people who started a post on Facebook that's gained a lot of attraction," he said. The road in question is 846 Road, from the bridge...
Drama unfolded once again and the county attorney was called in for advice at a meeting of the Antelope County commissioners at the Neligh courthouse last Tuesday, Oct. 1. The final item on the agenda, taxpayer concerns/general comment/Regina Krebs, was moved up. Krebs assists various county officials and subdivisions with budget preparation and, in her capacity as a certified public accountant, has conducted audits of public entities, including Antelope County in years past. She introduced...
Antelope County commissioners, after hearing comments from several constituents and county officials at a pair of public hearings Sept. 17, adopted the budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The $19,155,429 budget includes asking for $6,114,213 from taxpayers next year through a county levy of .246195. In order to balance all components of the budget, the levy computed by County Clerk Lisa Payne is about one-fourth cent more than the 2.5-cent increase proposed by commissioners in early...
Attendees at the Sept. 10 Antelope County Commissioners' meeting at Neligh's courthouse found new accommodations for hearing county business. A new sound system, including microphones in front of each commissioner, County Clerk Lisa Payne and at the witness table, had been installed. Commissioner Dean Smith acknowledged Invenergy officials for the donation. "I think it is much needed, I have always felt that it was. I appreciated you doing that for the county," he said. "I think it will be a...
County leaders spent about an hour mulling six “options” for managing Antelope County’s finances in the coming year, when they met last week at the courthouse in Neligh. Lisa Payne, county clerk, presented the commissioners with six scenarios for the annual budget, ranging from what she called the “golden egg” with its seven-cent levy increase, to one that called for no change in the county’s slice of a taxpayer’s pie. She cautioned that the figures were “very preliminary,” intended to give the commissioners a picture to work from. The high en...
The atmosphere in the supervisors’ room at the Antelope County courthouse in Neligh became a bit explosive for a while last Thursday morning. A special Aug. 22 meeting of the county commissioners had been set, exclusively, for budget discussion. However, an item for setting the date of a special recall election was added to the agenda by Lisa Payne, county clerk. As the meeting began, Tom Borer, commission chairman, asked for a motion to remove the item from the agenda. Dean Smith complied, offering the motion. “I think we should wait for the c...
Two residents of the Royal community faced the Antelope County commissioners at their Aug. 13 meeting, asking the county leaders to intercede in the case of a dog running at large. Marlowe Jensen and Justin Jensen came to the meeting armed with copies of state statutes dealing with dangerous dogs, claiming the documents required the county sheriff to bring charges against the dog’s owner. “I was harassed by a dog,” Marlowe Jensen said, adding “It chased a deputy into Justin’s house.” “It’s the only dog in town that’s running loose,” his son s...
